Behavior Improvements in affect thanks to the medication

I always celebrate the little things he does, but this one was a show stopper! Since starting his current placement, William has never had a whole week (5 days) of good behavior. We've tried diet, sensory vests, bumpy seats, fidget toys, weighted lap blankets, sensory breaks... (you name it, we've tried it). We were lucky to get 3 days a week with a good check mark AND he has a TSS. But this week, since starting medication (we didn't even inform his teachers that we started the meds so she has no idea) he finally got 5 good days in a row. He is usually dinged for not being able to sit still or not paying attention and not following directions. His teacher is quick to check these boxes if he does anything to hinder his education like not copying notes or just generally staring out of the window. This week, her comments were that William has been very good in class and is able to participate and keep up with other classmates. He is able to focus and retain the information given to him. He also is thriving with his personality and is able to express himself better when speaking to us and telling us about his day. On the weekends, we are not giving him the medication and letting him have a break. We totally see the difference from giving him meds to not having the medication. He is back to his old self, but at least we recognize it and see how it is helping him. We don't give him the maximum dose, but just enough to get him through his day. 

As his mom, I still have reservations about medicating my child for school, but I do see that he is much happier with his school and academic performance and he is so proud of himself. He is excited to do good in school and not to be so down on himself when he was trying so hard to concentrate. Sometimes he would tell us "my brain isn't working" and I would feel so bad for him knowing that he is trying is best but just not able to perform like he wanted to. The medication is helping him focus on the things he wants to accomplish instead of worrying about his movements and his behavior. We will continue to monitor his progress and not give him the medicine unless he really needs it. Now if we could just find a good placement for him, now that he's happy and thriving....... 

Life is never dull for this complex, sweet, and loving little man I am blessed to raise. 

The Meds seem to be working....

Well today is day 5 of the medicine. We started Mother's day weekend with 5mg of Focalin which seemed to calm William down, but only for about 5 hours. He woke up, had breakfast and took one dose and was not drowsy or over sluggish. He usually lets music from TV shows and other things over-stimulate him, but he was very calm and cool throughout the morning. We asked him questions and we kept a close watch on him, but he appeared to be quite happy and content sitting next to us and watching tv (which he never sits the entire time). We had plans to proceed to Ocean City New Jersey to ride on roller coasters and really test the over stimulation factor of the medicine. Since it appeared to wear off in the afternoon, we gave him another dose of 5mg and proceeded to the boardwalk. William was fantastic! The medicine did not curb his appetite, but it really helped him to focus better, not be overwhelmed by the lights and people, and we were able to breathe a sigh of relief and have a great time.

On Mother's day we gave him a 10mg of Focalin and he had a great day all day. It lasted from 7am - 5pm which was great. We noticed him getting jittery and back to his old self by 6pm and we were ok with that. By that time, it was time for dinner, bath and bed so we agreed to keep him on 10mg on Monday to test out how he would do on a school day.

William has never had 3 good days in a row. He struggled in the past, but it is astounding to see that he is proud of himself and his accomplishments. He is much calmer and not stimulated by things that happen as much as he used to be. We did not tell anyone at the school that we started him on meds, and everyday that we pick him up, someone at the school tells us that he is was doing so good.

I still have mixed emotions and sort of feel guilty that I am giving my son medication to be able to focus, but I see that he is happy and able to enjoy his life without having to control his behavior. If he has a whole week full of good days, we won't know what to do with ourselves.

If you have any information to add or experiences from meds, please feel free to share them with us! 

Onward and upward on the medication train we go...

Yesterday me and William ventured off to our Developmental Pediatrician with data from his teacher and Behavior Specialist in hand to discuss medication. Please understand that this was a very difficult decision for me as we have tried everything to steer clear of this road, but found it inevitable since William tries so hard, but sometimes cannot control his impulsivity. Here is the list of things we tried to avoid the drug road. They include, but are not limited to:

• Weighted Vest
• Non Weighted Compression Vest
• Bumpy Seat for school
• Lap Pad for school and home
• Thicker Kindergarten pencils that do not roll (the rolling kind was causing a distraction)
• Vegan gluten free diet (helped slightly but not overall and will still continue)
• No television during the week
• No video games during the week
• No overstimulation activites such as wrestling with Daddy
• Lotion massages
• Social Stories for behaviors in class
• TSS 3 hours a day (in the morning time when academics are being taught)
• Behavior Specialist (for treatment plan)
• Private Occupational and Speech therapy in the evenings

According to our Development Pediatrician, we have exhausted all the avenues we could are a left just one, which is medication for his ADHD.

Since talking we decided that this weekend we would try him in the lowest dosage of a drug called Focalin http://www.focalinxr.com/info/resources.jsp.

It seemed like the best option for William for the following reasons:

• It doesn't last all day and will only last maybe 8 hours just for school
• We could control when he takes it so that it wears off at night
• After a while, we would only give it to him during the weekdays and not on weekends to give him a break
• Out of all the choices, it seemed like the least when it comes to side effects.

I will administer the lowest dosage this Saturday and Sunday to monitor his behavior and make sure he has little to no adverse affects.

If you have been down this road, or have any insight on the drug, please reply and let me know your thoughts. Also, If you are just totally against medicine all together, I want to reiterate that I understand and I have researched and done as much as I could to not have to do this, but If this is helpful to my son, then I must atleast try this option, before turning my nose up and continue to stand by while he struggles to work 20x harder than his peers.